Monster Park - character design

Here's some character development from a little while  ago for the Monster Park animation project. Initially I was asked to work on some illustrations and storyboards to help give a flavour of key episodes for the BBC who were looking at developing the series at the time. I was soon asked to help redesign the main monster character - Typhoon. The producers felt he was looking a bit too 'Swamp Thing' like and wanted to make him a little more heroic/realistic and perhaps give him some Samurai style armour and weapons, though made out of vegetation.

My first stab at the character (above, and head detail below) turned out to be just too detailed and realistic for the style of animation they were going to use. It helped with generating a lot of ideas that could then be adapted to the house style however.

Below are a couple of quick attempts at simplifying the character

even going so far as removing his mouth apparently...

At some point it was suggested we make him more of a traditional English green man/Robin Hood figure and give him a hood formed out of his own foliage.

We then had to try and steer him away from being too human, and back towards hulking monster.

My favorite incarnation (below) was the one used for some promotional material.

The Big Climactic Showdown! - Storyboards

Here's a storyboard I worked on as a sample of the kind of action scenes that would feature in the Monster Park animated series developed by Studio Cheese.

This was to be the finale of the first episode where the heroes confront the villain in his secret lair only to have him escape their clutches in his mobility chair that handily transforms into a rocket! This all ties in with beat boards for this episode which you can view here and here.

All of this, including the initial episode story and the character designs were soon to change though. More on that later...

Sketchy heads

Traditional summer

Flaming June is here again and once again it's raining. It reminded me of the above visuals I worked on last summer for an outdoor experiential marketing campaign. As the theme was a traditional English summer, they had the foresight to include Morris dancers handing out umbrellas and cagoules.

Brandenburg begins

Huzzah! Epic historical adventure 'Hats off to Brandenburg' has finally been launched with a cover provided by myself. It's now available in your traditional papery format or newfangled kindley format at purveyors of fine literature such as amazon.com (or indeed amazon.co.uk or amazon.whatever) and Barnes & Noble.

Those with keen eyes will notice the published cover differs from other versions that have appeared on this blog in that it now sports the legend 'The Roxy Compendium - Book One'. Yes, author Graham Thomas is a man with a plan, a grand scheme in fact, for as the amazon product description reveals the 'Roxy Compendium' is a George R. R. Martin dwarfing "sixteen part mythology charting the trials, tribulations and romances of 'The Roxy Playhouse Irregulars' as they fight, live and love in the early 19th Century".

The cover for book two is done and dusted, and publisher willing, I'll be able to share some of the work done for that soon. Until then purchase the first part of Mr Thomas' magnum opus and you will finally find out why there are a couple unwisely duelling atop a coach, what harlequin-boy hopes to catch in his butterfly net, and who the wine quaffing, blinged up, but slightly unkempt centre of attention truly is.

Alice on Wonderworld

Here's my entry for an 'Alice in Wonderland' themed exhibition at the University for the Creative Arts in Epsom. It's my version of what Alice might have been if created by a 1960s mescaline fuelled sci-fi writer rather than a Victorian country Parson.

Original Cover and Spine Artwork

St Jean

More old stuff, my attempts at a portrait of the beautiful Jean Seberg as Joan of Arc in Otto Preminger's St Joan (1957).

Fruit and Veg

Medicine man - markers

Another old example of my marker and pencil work. This time for some weird fantasy surgeon character by the the looks of things.

Marker Vs Digital

I found these old pieces of work recently, both obviously use the same sketch as a foundation. The marker rendered version at the top is probably around ten years old, whilst the digital version dates to about five years ago.

Whilst both have problems in terms of the character itself (not sure why he's balancing a plate on his head in the top version!), and drapery, I'm surprised by how much I like the marker version.

You don't see so much marker work today, but it's still being employed to stunning effect by the likes of Eric Canete and Yildiray Cinar.

head doodle

Many eyed thing

Author portrait 2

Another go at an author portrait of Graham Thomas. Finished digital painting above and original pencil sketch below.

Author Portrait

Recent portrait of author Graham Thomas, for his 'Brandenburg' novels.

Number 1

First post for 2012. Better late than never?